on the broadcast tonight, two weeks to go now, a blitz to the finish. a cross country sprint by both candidates coming out of last night's debate. and what was last night's plot line after all. meningitis outbreak. more cases, more worries about it spreading. and new news about the pharmacy at the center of the storm. cutting edge medicine offering new hope for women who hope to have children but can't do it right now because they're facing a serious health challenge. and sister act, she nearly stole the show at the royal wedding. now pippa middle son is going public as the life of the party. "nightly news" begins now.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television now that the presidential debates are over, it is clear each one of them had a plot line. the president underperformed against governor romney. both men were amped up. last night's plot line appears to be the president's foreign policy attack and mitt romney's movement to the center on a number of issues. 60 million americans watched on live television. starting today, there was a new sense of urgency out on the trail. now, the travel becomes urgent and frenetic every second counts. so does every state. we have it all covered and we begin with peter alexander traveling with the romney campaign in henderson, nevada. peter, good evening. >> good evening to you. as you just noted, nearly 60 million americans watched last

night. that was the smallest number of the three presidential debates. over the next two weeks as they bounce across the country, effectively hopscot scotching o another. both believe they're in the driver's seat. >> give it up for -- >> kicking off their final 14 days toward the election. a split screen sprint to the finish. barack obama zeroing in on his opponent's trustworthiness. >> everything he's doing right now, is to hide his reposition and win this election. you can trust that i say what i mean. and i mean what i say. >> reporter: mitt romney near las vegas, arguing that president obama's campaign is about attacks. not solutions. >> we haven't heard an agenda from the president, that's why his campaign is taking on water and our campaign is full speed ahead. >> reporter: early voters streaming to the polls, both sides are flooding the airwaves.

hoping their last minute message will resonate with undecided voters. >> we're not there yet. but we've made real progress. the last thing we should do is turn back now. >> the romney campaign already touting its performance in last night's foreign policy debate. >> america has not dictated other nations. we have freed other nations from dictators. >> reporter: to emphasize his closing argument, the president unveiled a 20 page booklet detailing a series of previously released positions from boosting manufacturing jobs to raising taxes on the wealthy. brian, tomorrow the president begins a 48-hour seven-state battleground blitz. mitt romney is going to hit a lot of those states as well, including colorado, iowa, nevada one more time, and that critical battleground of ohio. >> peter alexander in nevada starting us off tonight. now to what happened last night,

the third and final debate, where the tone shifted yet again, as we said, so did some of the positions. we have two reports beginning with our political director chuck todd. good evening. >> reporter: it was a contrast in debate strategy. not necessarily a contrast between the two candidates. the president and mitt romney seemed to reverse rolls from the very first debate. president obama needed to change the contour of this race, and mitt romney decided the best strategy was to play it safe. in the third and final debate, the president wasted little time touting his foreign policy agreements. >> we refocus our attention on those who actually killed us on 9/11, al qaeda's core leadership has been decimated. >> reporter: mitt romney tried to poke holes in obama's position.

>> i see iran four years closer to a bomb. i see chaos, tumult. i see jihadists continuing to spread. >> reporter: for most of the debate, the president tried to belittle his foe's foreign policy. >> every time you've offered an opinion you've been wrong. >> reporter: the president mocked mr. romney's repeated attempts to agree with many policies. >> i congratulate him on taking out osama bin ladin and going after the leadership in al qaeda. >> i'm glad you agree we've been successful in going after al qaeda, i'll have to tell you, your strategy previously has been one that has been all over the map. >> reporter: both men did echo the other on an array of foreign policy declarations. >> iran will not get a nuclear weapon. >> nuclear iran, nuclear capable iran is unacceptable to america. >> i will stand with israel if they are attacked. >> we will stand with israel. if israel is attacked, we have

their back. >> one of the few times they went hard at the president referred to this private remark caught on tape earlier this y r year. >> not going to wear rose colored glasses when it comes to russia or mr. putin. i'm not going to say to him, i'll give you more flexibility after the election. >> the president got traction responding to this freak went attack line from mr. romney. >> the president began an apology tour of going to various nations in the middle east and criticizing america. and by the way, you skipped israel our closest friend in the region. you went to the other nations. >> i went to israel as a candidate. i didn't take donors, ien didn't attend fund-raisers. >> reporter: perhaps the most memorable push back on the night this one. >> our navy is smaller now than any time since 1917. the navy said they needed 313

ships to carry out their mission we're now at 285. >> we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military has changed. >> reporter: it's crunch time, brian. two weeks to go. here's the new battleground map. we have it down to seven states in neff me. both campaigns see to agree, leaning romney. so we're looking at that midwestern part of the country, ohio, iowa and wisconsin. >> thanks, chuck. all the agreement we just chronicled seemed to be a move to the center as we said by governor romney, just two weeks before the election. taking positions he has not taken before. we get a check of some of the facts tonight from our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell. andrea, good evening. >> mitt romney's switch to a more moderate foreign policy last night was clearly aimed at independent women voters.

so called security moms. in the past, romney has taken a hardline on the possibility of military action against iran, to stop its nuclear program. last night he emphasized diploma diplomacy. >> a military action is the last resort. it is something one would only consider if all of the other avenues had been tried to their full extent. >> on syria, romney used to talk about the u.s. arming the rebels. then two weeks ago, he said the u.s. should help allied partners arm them. >> i don't want to have our military involved in syria. i don't think there's a necessity to put our military in syria at this stage. >> finally on benghazi after spending more than a month, including at last week's debate. relentlessly attacking the president for security and intelligence failures. last night romney was brief and unexpectedly mild.

>> we see in libya, an attack apparently by -- i think we know now by terrorists of some kind against our people there, four people dead. our hearts and minds go to them. >> reporter: on iraq and also on the timetable for withdrawing from afghanistan, romney also noticeably softened his position. clearly having decided that undecided voters, those swing voters are more likely to choose a moderate republican than a hawk. >> andrea mitchell part of our post debate coverage tonight. thanks. we have asked both campaigns to ride along in these final days. and starting tomorrow night, we'll have exclusive behind the scenes access with president obama as he tries to make his closing argument to the american people. that's beginning tomorrow night here on nightly news. and on rock center on thursday. dramatic developments today in the ongoing meningitis outbreak caused by those tainted steroid shots for back pain. more than 300 people are now confirmed sick. the state of massachusetts is

taking action against the company at the center of it all. our senior investigative correspondent lisa myers has an update for us on this tonight. good evening. >> good evening, brian. today massachusetts officials revealed when they inspected the pharmacy, responsible for the meningitis outbreak. they found unclean conditions and serious health and safety violations. officials say inspectors found that new england compounding center had not followed proper sterilization procedures. shipped medicine before getting tests back, confirming it was properly sterilized and that visible black fungus was found in some of the recalled steroids. governor patrick said the state has revoked necc's license as well as the licenses of its top three pharmacists. today the cdc announced 380 people had been sickened so far in 17 states, with 23 deaths. now, the company's lawyer told us be to the that for a decade, it's worked closely and

cooperatively with massachusetts authorities, and provided full and complete access to facilities and records. given that, he says, it's hard to believe that authorities there were unaware of the company's operations. brian? >> lisa myers with the latest on this out of washington tonight. lisa, thanks. apple fans were all over this today. the unveiling of the long rumored ipad mini-. which is meant to compete with smaller, lower priced tablets on the market from a number of makers. the next big product rollout comes from microsoft in a couple days. miguel almaguer reports. >> reporter: at 7.9 inches, the ipad mini is apple's newest toy, the newest product aimed at t e taking a big bite out of the tablet market. >> kind of like an ipad 2,

shrunken down and improved in some ways. it's really light. >> as thin as a pencil and two inches smaller than the original ipad, it's been called the game changer able to compete with cheaper tablets already on the market. everyone is trying to get a piece of the tablet market, like devices like the amazon kindle fire selling for $200. apple's mini is more expensive, starting at $329. a very busy week for technology. >> microsoft surface tablet, windows 8, the windows phone, the ipad mini all within a single week. it's a traffic jam. >> reporter: and it's getting rough out there. samsung's new commercial portrays apple customers waiting in line for the new product release. >> this is the line for apps. >> we're not taking our foot off the gas. >> just in time for christmas, apple also upgraded the number one selling notebook and the

number one desktop model. >> 10, 9 -- >> reporter: the rollout comes just days before microsoft's release of windows 8, still dominating the personal computer market. industry insiders say microsoft's move is an attempt to hold ground in the pc world, while trying to make some headway in tablet sales. >> i'd like to call it a clash of the titans, really, apple is bigger and stronger than the rest of them out there. >> reporter: silicon valley's tech wars, aimed at capturing your imagination and your money. miguel almaguer, nbc news, san jose, california. apple stock was down today, because investors fear the $329 starting price for the ipad mini is too high for the market. that only contributed to an already rough tuesday on the market. the dow was down 243 points,

it's biggest drop since last june. nasdaq and s&p 500 were both down as well. still ahead for us, what could be a new option for women who want to have children but first have to deal with a life saving ordeal. and later pippa middleton decides to go public and she's open about what she's best known for so far. [ male announcer ] feeling like a shadow of your former self? c'mon, michael! get in the game! [ male announcer ] don't have the hops for hoops with your buddies? lost your appetite for romance? and your mood is on its way down. you might not just be getting older. you might have a treatable condition called low testosterone or low t. millions of men, forty-five or older, may have low t. so talk to your doctor about low t. hey, michael! [ male announcer ] and step out of the shadows. hi! how are you? [ male announcer ] learn more at isitlowt.com. [ laughs ] hey!

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in news tonight about women's health, the dilemma faced by many young women who have to endure treatment for cancer while knowing it could make them infer tile. now a relatively new procedure has successfully given some women a second chance by in effect freezing time. our report tonight from our chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman. 29-year-old morgan thompson was diagnosed with hodgkin's lymphoma three years ago. >> it's a shocking thing to have to deal with at any age. at 26 i was not prepared for that at all. >> reporter: one in every 46 women under the age of 40 is diagnosed with cancer, and during the moster if tile time of a woman's life, the treatment to kill that cancer can leave a woman infertile. there's also growing interest in

preserving fertility. >> i always knew i wanted to be a mom, i was going to have twin girls and a little boy. >> reporter: morgan was referred to a fertility expert at new york medical college who specializes in an experimental technique called ovarian tissue cryopreservation. freezing ovarian tissue before cancer treatment begins. >> the over very is taken through a special process. we preserve the ovary for future use. >> reporter: so far the procedure has resulted in 20 babies worldwide. >> if you were a cancer patient 15 years ago, your options in terms of fertility preservation would be close to zip. >> reporter: with her cancer responding to treatment, she's looking forward to a chance at motherhood. >> you want to be told you have options. you want people to think you're going to be here in order to

make that decision to have kids. a procedure like this is amazing. >> reporter: because the procedure is experimental, it's not covered by insurance. doctors and researchers are working to improve the efficiency of the technique, hopeful it will soon be an established fertility method. dr. nancy snyderman, nbc news new york. when we come back tonight, a health warning in the news for pet owners. for medicare open . are you ready? time to compare plans and see what's new. you don't have to make changes, but it's good to look. maybe you can find better coverage, save money, or both. and check out the preventive benefits you get after the health care law. ♪ medicare open enrollment. now's the time. visit medicare.gov or call 1-800-medicare. ♪ just begin with america's favorite soups. bring out chicken broccoli alfredo. or best-ever meatloaf. go to campbellskitchen.com

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they are under threat. the company that makes the manganese bronze hasn't turned a profit since '07. the cabs will be disappearing unless a financial solution can be found for the company. this next item is for us dog lovers, it's a reminder you can love your dog too much. the old express that there's nothing cleaner than a dog's mouth, it's wrong. a new study in the archives of oral biology shows, if you're into kissing your dog or accepting kisses from your dog, you can get gum diseases or other ailments. think about where that dog's mouth has been. dogs are self-cleansers. meaning they have a ton of bacteria in their mouths. up next here tonight, what it's like to be world famous overnight just because your sister happens to marry prince. [ male announcer ] humana and walmart have teamed up

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to roll over my old 401(k) into a fidelity ira. man: okay, no problem. it's easy to get started; i can help you with the paperwork. um...this green line just appeared on my floor. yeah, that's fidelity helping you reach your financial goals. could you hold on a second? it's your money. roll over your old 401(k) into a fidelity ira and take control of your personal economy. this is going to be helpful. call or come in today. fidelity investments. turn here. charles and camilla made an appearance on the red carpet in london this evening for the lavish and widely anticipated world premiere of the new james bond movie "skyfall."

there's a member of the extended family in the news for adding something new to her resume, the title of author. and for revealing what it's like to be almost as well known as her sister the future queen of england. michelle kosinski has our report. >> reporter: the moment she strolled down the aisle, this sister and this one, pippa middleton was world famous, ready or not. from then on, cameras captured every time she was out on the town. now, though, pippa is stepping out as a party planner with a new book on partying at home with family, friends and a budget. she confesses it's a bit startling to achieve global recognition before the age of 30 on account of your sister, your brother-in-law and your bottom. it has its up side and down side. i certainly have opportunities

many can only dream of. in most ways i'm a typical girl many her twenties, trying to forth a career and find herself. >> she wants to distance herself from the girl who lives a lavish lifesty lifestyle. >> the ideas are very simple and meant to be, things like roasted marshmallows on a stick or games for children. >> had is pippa getting back to basics. she's put the effort into it. >> reporter: her advance, more than a half million dollars. she worked for years for her family's successful on line party supply company. >> pippa is offended that people think she's cashing in on her royal connection. >> reporter: the sister of the bride wanting to stand on her own for something other than

that walk. michelle kosinski, nbc news, london. that is our broadcast on this tuesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com